The Final Tool : Black Swans

The end of this negotiation series with the final tool you need in your toolbox

As Chris often talks about, “In any given negotiation, both sides are hiding information.” Know this going in. Chris calls this a “black swan.” Chris explains, black swans are pieces of innocuous information that, if revealed, can change the course of the whole negotiation. In many ways, negotiation is all about finding the black swans. To discover them, you must open your mind, maintain an endless curiosity, and be on the lookout for surprises.

Instead of saying, I understand, mirror the other side by repeating the last few words they’ve said, using a downward-inflecting voice and then going silent. When they say, That’s the best I can do, you say The best you can do … and let the silence get uncomfortable.

Mirror to inquire. Instead of saying, What did you mean by that? when something about what the other side said either catches you off guard, seems critical, or somehow trips up your gut instinct, use a mirror and reflect their words back at them.

Labels can help you, too. You seem … You sound … You look … It seems … It sounds … It looks … It feels

It seems like that … struck a chord with you.

It seems like that … triggered a thought?

It seems like that … caught you off guard?

It seems like there’s more here … than meets the eye?

It seems like that made you feel … uncomfortable?

The … here represents the use of a one-second-long effective pause mid-label, followed by the term you choose for your label delivered with an upward inflection (signaling genuine curiosity).

I hope you enjoyed this series. Looking forward to seeing you in the next one.

Note : Since these are mostly notes, I have tried not to be extra creative with my sentences. The phrases are mostly extracted from the source, as they were. Due credits go to MasterClass.